So, like, this dude Angus Chen, right? He’s all about cancer stuff – drugs, policy, science, equity, you name it. He hopped on board with STAT in 2021 after doing health and science reporting at NPR and NPR affiliates. And get this, his work has won some big awards like the Edward R. Murrow Awards and the June L. Biedler Prize for cancer journalism. If you wanna hit him up, you can find him on Signal at angus.08.
In the early days of Trump’s second term, a bunch of big shots in cancer research were like, “Did we mess up by not telling people how cool cancer research is?” They were thinking, maybe if folks knew how much tech, drugs, and care have helped cut the cancer death rate by 34% since 1991, the government wouldn’t have slashed funding for cancer research. Robert Winn, from the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, admitted to STAT in February that they dropped the ball on spreading the good news about cancer progress. He was like, “We were so focused on finding cures and new tech that we forgot to tell people we’re actually making a difference. Oops.”
But hey, it seems like the cancer research world took Winn’s words to heart. Just last week, a massive gathering of over 22,000 cancer scientists, doctors, and advocates got together for the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, one of the biggest cancer conferences out there. And let me tell you, it wasn’t just a snoozefest of technical jargon. Nope, the leaders at the conference were all about getting people fired up to advocate for cancer research. They were like, “Call your reps, speak up, and oh yeah, let’s not forget to throw shade at some of Trump’s policies while we’re at it.”
So like, the cancer research peeps realized they need to step up their game in letting the public know how far they’ve come. They’re not just about finding cures – they’re making real progress in the fight against cancer. It’s not all doom and gloom like people think. Cancer isn’t always a death sentence anymore, and we need to spread the word on that.
At the end of the day, it’s all about raising awareness, standing up for what’s right, and making sure cancer research gets the support it deserves. And hey, if you’re not on board with that, well, maybe it’s time to rethink your priorities, you know? Cancer ain’t gonna fight itself, folks. Let’s do this together.
